1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an inclined vial holder adapted to permit a user to insert a syringe therein to remove fluid from the inverted vial being held in an inclined angle and more particularly to an inclined bottle holder for supporting a vial of sterile fluid in an inverted clamped position wherein the vial can be easily removed and replaced and wherein the sterile fluid can be withdrawn from the vial by a syringe inserted into the top of the inverted vial held in an inclined position.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Medical bottle holders are known in the prior art. Typical of such devices is a bottle holder as described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,982,716 which discloses a medicine container comprising a hollow cylindrical body including a bottom end cover having an opening therein, a top cap, means for securing the top cap in position, and means for affixing the holder to a vertical wall. The medical bottle holder described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,982,716, holds the medical bottle in a vertically inverted position such, that the top extends through the opening in the bottom end cover so that both hands of a user are free to manipulate a syringe to withdraw the proper dosage from the bottle.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,513,029 discloses a bottle holder which is adapted for detachably supporting a bottle on a wall wherein the holder is formed of a cylindrical shaped housing having a removable top, a bottom having an opening which is adapted to hold a bottle in an inverted position and a holder which is adapted to support the cylindrical shaped housing with the bottle in an inverted position against the wall. Access to the bottom of the bottle is obtained by unscrewing and removing the bottom cover which permits access by a user to the top of the bottle to permit insertion of a syringe into the inverted top of the bottle to remove fluid therefrom.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,677,372 discloses a bottle holder assembly formed of a plurality of elements which include a support in the form of a flat planar surface, a neck clamping device which is adapted to engage the neck of a bottle and support the entire bottle and fluid in an inclined position such, that the top can have a hypodermic syringe inserted therein and a guide member which is adapted to guide a syringe towards the neck of the inclined bottle so as to permit insertion of the syringe through the top thereof to remove the sterile fluid from the bottle.
Each of the above-described devices include a plurality of separate elements in the form of cylindrical housings, caps, guide members, or other elements which result in a medical bottle holder formed as an assembly of such separate components.
In the bottle holders described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,982,716 and 2,513,029, the user must remove a top from the support housing, which usually requires unscrewing either a fastening member or the entire top in order to expose the interior of the cylindrical body. In use, a medicine bottle must be dropped in an inverted position into the housing in proper alignment such, that the neck and top of the bottle pass through the opening in the bottom of the housing. Further, in the medical bottle holders described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,982,716 and 2,513,029, the bottles are held in an inverted vertical position which makes access to the bottom while using a syringe extremely difficult. Further, in order to remove an empty medical bottle out of the holder by the neck and top, the bottle must be manipulated back through the opening in the bottom of the support and through the top of the cylindrical housing. This results in great difficulty in removing and inserting medical bottles of fluid into the holder and dropping of a full medicine bottle into the holder may damage the bottle if the neck and top thereof hit the edge of the bottom and do not properly align with the opening.
The bottle holder described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,667,372, clamps a portion of the neck of the bottle to support the entire bottle and fluid. This results in the entire supporting stress of the medical bottle and any stress imposed during insertion of the syringe being concentrated in the small portion of the neck of the bottle, which is typically the weakest area of the bottle. Further, the use of a guide member and other components, makes it difficult to provide easy access of a syringe to the bottle and requires the use of two hands to guide the syringe into the top of the inclined bottle. U.S. Pat. No. 2,667,372, discloses the use of other clamping means for clamping the entire neck of the bottle in position. Such clamping means apply stress to the neck of the bottle. Further, when a syringe is inserted into the bottle, additional stress is placed on the neck of the bottle due to the upward force inserted thereagainst by the syringe being transported over the guide member.